New study sheds light on the darker side of business travel

From www.eurekalert.com

University of Surrey

A new study, 'The dark side of business travel: A media comments analysis', by academics at the University of Surrey and Lund University, published today in the journal Transportation Research Part D, analyses first hand responses on the impacts that frequent business travel can have on individuals.

The study is an in-depth analysis of the online public responses to media reporting on an earlier research paper titled 'A darker side of hypermobility', which looked at the different ways that frequent travel, or hypermobility, can affect individuals - including its negative health, social and family impacts. This earlier paper led to global online media reporting on which the public was able to leave comments in many instances, and the present study analyses the personal accounts left in these comments.

The new study highlights that individuals tend to either 'flourish' or 'flounder' in careers that include frequent business travel. The 'flourishing hypermobile' views frequent business travel as an integral part of their happiness and identity, whereas the 'floundering hypermobile' experiences frequent business travel as a source of unhappiness that endangers their health and psycho-social wellbeing.